Hair curler

ABSTRACT

A hair curler containing a supply of fuel, preferably liquefied fuel such as butane or propane, and a nozzle for releasing gaseous fuel from the supply and for providing a mixture of said fuel and an oxygen containing gas, preferably air, so as to provide a flow or current of a gaseous combustible fuel mixture, which is directed to an area within the hair curler where the fuel of the mixture is oxidated or burned in the presence of an oxidation catalyzing material whereby heat is generated within the curler.

United States Patent Niels Christian .lorgensen Vinrankevej 19, 2900l-lellerup, Denmark 72] Inventor [21] Appl. No. 815,443 [22] Filed Apr.11, 1969 [45] Patented Feb. 16, 1971 s41 HAIRYCURLER 24 Claims, 3Drawing Figs.

[52] 11.8. CI. 132/33 [51] Int-Cl. A4511 2/12 [50] Field ol'Search...132/33, 7,

40; 2l9/(lnquired), 222; l26/(lnquired); 43 l/(lnquired); 222/4021 [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,485,248 12/1969 Murray et a].132/33 3,488,471 l/1970 Gstalder 219/222 Primary Examiner-Louis G.Mancene Assistant Examiner-Gregory E. McNeill Atlarney- Watson, Cole,Grindle & Watson ABSTRACT: A hair curler containing a supply of fuel,preferably liquefied fuel such as butane: or propane, and a nozzle forreleasing gaseous fuel from the supply and for providing a mixture ofsaid fuel and an oxygen containing gas, preferably air, so as to providea flow or current of a gaseous combustible fuel mixture, which isdirected to an area within the hair curler where the fuel of the'mixtureis oxidated or burned in the presence of an oxidation catalyzingmaterial whereby heat is generated within the curler.

WPATENTEUSFEBI 6 I911 INVENTOR.

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' which is reliable in use and able to dry wet hair.

HAIR CURLER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION lhField of the Invention p Thisinvention relates in general to a hair curler and more particularly to ahair curler of the type being able to contain a supply of fuel andcomprising meansfor oxidating said fuel to generate heat within thecurler.

2. Description of the Prior Art My copending application Serial No.560,582 now Pat. No. 3,478,755 filed on Jun. 27, 1966 discloses a haircurler of the above-mentioned type using a wick for transferring fuelfrom the fuel supply of the curler to the saidoxidation or combustionarea. The present invention constitute an improvement of the hair curlerdescribed in the said application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One object of the invention isto provide a haircurler of the said type being able to contain liquefied fuel being in agaseous state under atmospheric pressure and temperature conditions,such as propane and butane.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hair curler of theabove-mentioned type in which the use of wicks andthe like for leadingfuel from said supply of fuel to the area of oxidation or combustion maybe avoided.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hair curler A stillfurther object of the invention is to provide an appliance of the typecomprising -a container for liquefied fuel being in a gaseous stateunder normal atmospheric pressure and temperature conditionsand a nozzleopening communicating with the inner of the container for providing acurrent or flow of gaseous fuel, in which appliance a substantiallyuniform current or flow of gas through the nozzle opening is secureddespite of the position of the appliance.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a refill containerenabling a simple refill of the fuel container of an appliance withliquefied fuel, such as'butane or propane.

According to the invention the hair curler comprises a supply ofliquefied fuel, such as propane or butane or any other type of fuelbeing in agase ous state under normal at- .mos heric temperature andressure conditions, oxidation catalyzing means and a nozzle fordirecting aflow of gaseous fuel from said fuel supplyto saidcatalyzingmeans. According to the invention the hair curler may'coinprise meansfor introducing an oxygen containing gas, preferably air, into the flowof gaseous fuel. The amount of oxygen introduced into the flow of fuelmay be chosen so as to provide optimum combustion conditions.Alternatively, in order to avoid that the gaseous fuel mixture isignited outside the hair curler, in case for some reason no oxidation ofthe fuel has taken place within the curler, an amount of air sufiicientto render the mixture of fuel and air unflammable under normalatmospheric conditions, may be introduced into the flow of gaseous fuel.In the first mentioned case, however, the risk of ignition outside thecurler may be reduced or removed by introducing air or anothernoncombustible gas into the flow of fuel downstream to the oxidation orcatalyst area. In both, cases the means for introducing air or gas intothe flow or current of fuel from the nozzle may for example be injectormeans such as a Venturi tube through which said fuel current directed.

The size of the nozzle opening is chosen in response to the type andpressure of the liquefied fuel of the fuel supply in the curler and tothe heating rate desired. Normally the diameter of the nozzle opening ischosen within the range from about l ,u. to about 80 11.. An opening ofthis size may advantageously be formed by means of laser light.

The oxidation catalyzing means used in the curler according to theinvention may comprise a first catalyst having a relatively long usefullife and a second more active catalyst having a shorter useful life, andsaid catalysts may be arranged in the path of the gas mixture from thenozzle in such a manner that said first catalyst is the first to becontacted by the gas mixture.

By such an arrangement oxidation of fuel contained in said flow of gasmixture is initiated by said second more active catalyst, and after thatthe catalyzing action is taken over by the second catalyst which may bemore sturdy and cheaper than the second catalyst. As an example thesecond catalyst may comprise platinum, palladium, copper peroxide and/orchromium trioxide, and said first catalyst may comprise aluminum oxideand/or silica.

According to the invention the catalyzing means may comprise a filamentof an oxidation catalyzing metal, such as platinum. Such filament mayconstitute said second catalyst or part thereof. Alternatively, thefilament may be the only catalyzing means present in the curler in casea suitable amount of oxygen is introduced into the gaseous fuel releasedfrom the fuel supply through the nozzle opening. The oxidation processmay advantageously be initiated by momentary heating the filament, e.g.by supplying electrical current thereto.

The present invention also relates to a portable appliance of the typecomprising a container for containing a supply of liquefied fuel, meansfor successively releasingsaid fuel in a gaseous state and means forleading said released fuel to an oxidation or combustion area of theappliance, where the fuel may be oxidated or burned. In case saidreleasing means comprise a nozzle having a rather small opening thisopening may easily become clogged by possible impurities in the fuel.Furthermore, the releasing rate of the fuel will greatly depend on theposition of the container, i.e. on the fact whether liquid phase of saidfuel .is present at the nozzle opening or not. According to theinvention these drawbacks may be eliminated by the provision of a porousmass or layer arranged in such a manner than the fuel in the fuelcontainer has to pass said mass or layer in order to reach the openingof the nozzle.

Thus, the said mass or layer is preferably arranged so as to cover theentrance of the nozzle opening. The said mass or layer may for examplebe made from pulp, paper, ceramic materials or sintered metals.

The said porous mass or layer may preferably be in contact with wickmeans arranged so as to be in contact with the liquidphase of the fuelin the fuel container in all positions of the same. Thus, for example,the said wick means may comprise a skirt of paper material or anotherabsorbing material covering a substantial part of the inner sidewalls ofthe fuel container. The said wick means secure a constant moistening ofthe porous mass or layer with liquid phase of the fuel, whereby asubstantially uniform releasing of gaseous fuel through said mass orlayer and through the nozzle opening is secured in all positions of thefuel container.

The appliance described above may be a hair curler. it is, however, alsoenvisaged that the appliance may be for any other use. As an example theappliance described may be a gas lighter.

The invention also relates to a storage container or refill containerfor liquefied fuel, such as propane and butane. The container is of thetype comprising a discharge valve at the top of the container and a diptube extending from said valve to a point adjacent the bottom of thecontainer. According to the invention in addition to a liquid and agaseous phase of the fuel the storage or refill container contains asecond compressed gas which is inert to and immiscible with the liquidphase of the fuel. The said second compressed gas, which may for examplebe nitrogen, should be compressed to such an extent that the pressurethereof exceeds the vapor pressure of the liquid fuel even when thestorage container is almost emptied for liquid fuel, whereby is obtainedthat liquid phase of the fuel may be discharged from the container in anupright position of the same merely by operating the discharge valve ofthe storage container.

in case the fuel container of a hair curler described is provided with asuitable filling valve, the fuel container of the curler may be filledwith liquid phase fuel by placing the curler at the top of the storageor refill container and operating the valve of said container. The saidvalve at the top of the storage container may be of the type operated byexerting a downward pressure at the top end of the dip tube. In suchcase the fuel container of the hair curler may be filled by placing thecurler at the top of the dip tube of the storage container and pushingthe curler downwardly toward the upper part of the storage container.

It is envisaged that the storage or refill container described above maybe used for filling the fuel container of any type of minor appliancesof the type using liquefied fuel, such as gas lighters and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a sectional view of anembodiment of the hair curler according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective and partially sectional view illustrating arefill container and how the fuel container of the curler shown in FIG.1 may be refilled; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a further embodiment of theoxidationor reaction tube of the curler shown in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The hair curler shown in FIG. 1is represented generally by the numeral 30 and comprises an outertubular member 31 having a plurality of openings 32 and radiallyoutwardly projecting pins 33 or other suitable hair engaging means. Atone end of the hair curler the tubular member 31 contains a fuelcontainer 34 for containing a supply of liquefied fuel 35, such asbutane or propane. The outer end wall 36 of the fuel container isfunnel-shaped, and at the center part thereof a filling valve 37 isprovided. The valve member of said valve comprises a valve stem 38 and acollar or sleeve 39 of rubber, plastic or another suitable materialtightly surrounding one end of the stem 38. The said valve member may tosome extent be moved axially whereby the left end (as viewed in FIG. I)of the sleeve 39 may be moved into and out of engagement with the valveseat 40. The fuel container 34 further contains a filtering and/orgasifying member 41, which may, for example, be shaped as a sheet, alayer, or a pellet covering a discharge opening 42 of the liquidcontainer. The member 41 may, for example, be made from paper materials,ceramic materials and/or sintered metals. The fuel container 34 maycontain wick means, which may, for example, comprise a lining 43covering the inner sidewalls of the fuel container and being made from afibrous material, such as filtering paper, textile materials, or otherabsorptive materials, and the member 41 is connected to or contacted bythe lining 43. The outside of the fuel container end wall facing theinner of the hair curler is covered by a heat insulating layer 44.

Through a tubular connecting member 45 the discharge opening 42 of thefuel container 34 is communicating with an axially extending injector orVenturi member 46 containing an axially extending channel or duct 47communicating with a transversely extending air introducing channel orduct 48, the outer end of which opens into the atmosphere. The injectormember 46 is preferably made from a refractory material such as aceramic material. A nozzle plate 49 is clamped between adjacent radialsurfaces of the connecting member 45 and the injector member 46,respectively. If desired, one or two annular packings or sealing rings50 may be used. At the center of the nozzle plate a nozzle opening 51having a diameter ranging from' about p. to about 80 p. is provided,preferably by means of laser light. The axially extending channel orduct 47 of the injector member 46 opens into an oxidation or catalystchamber 52 defined by an axially extending tubular member 53 which ispreferably made from a transparent material, and one end of which istightly connected to the injector member 46. At the free end of thetubular member 53 the chamber 52 opens into the atmosphere. The saidchamber 52 contains one or more oxidation catalyzing materials whichmay, for example, comprise a porous member or pellet 54 of aluminumoxide having one or more axially extending ducts 55. The pellet 54 may,preferably at the downstream end thereof, serve as a carrier for asecond and more active catalyst material, such as platinum andpalladium. At the right end of the pellet 54 (as viewed in FIG. 1) afilament 56 of a catalyzing material, such as platinum, is arranged. Theend of said filament is in a manner not shown electrically conductivelyconnected to the fuel container end wall 36 and to a contact ring 57,respectively, said contact ring being electrically insulated from saidfuel container end wall.

A transversely extending partition wall 73 divides the inner space ofthe tubular member 31 into an air suction chamber and a combustion gasexhaust chamber, and the total inner space of the tubular member 31 notoccupied by the fuel container 34 is surrounded by a security cage 58 ofwire mesh.

FIG. 3 shows the injector member 46 connected to a modified embodimentof the tubular member 53 provided with an extension 59 having a Venturithroat 60. At the throat 60 one or more transverse openings 61 areformed for permitting suction of air into the gas flowing through saidthroat.

FIG. 2 illustrates a storage or refill container generally representedby the numeral 62. The container 62 comprises a top wall or dome 63 atthe center part of which a discharge valve 64 is mounted, which valvemay be operated by depressing a discharge tube 65. From the housing ofthe valve 64 a dip tube 66 extends to a point adjacent the bottom of thecontainer. The discharge valve 64, the discharge tube 65 and the diptube 66 may be of the types commonly used in aerosol packages orcontainers.

The dome 63 is covered by a hood or cap 67 having a central opening forreceiving the discharge tube 65 and the housing of the discharge valve64. The cap wall portion 68 surrounding said central opening is shapedas a funnel for receiving the end of the hair curler 30 at which thefilling valve 37 is arranged. In the space defined between the dome 63and the cap 67 dry cells or another source of electrical current arearranged. By means of suitable mounting members 70 the poles of the drycells are maintained in electrical contact with contact members (notshown) arranged at the funnel-shaped cap wall portion 68 in such amanner that the said contact members are brought into contact with theend wall 36 of the fuel container 34 and with the contact ring 57,respectively, whereby an electrical current in the filament 56 isautomatically provided when the fuel container end of the hair curler isinserted in the funnel 68 as further described below.

The refill container 62 contains a supply of liquefied fuel 71, such asbutane or propane. The container space 72 above the liquid phase 71comprises in addition to the gaseous fuel phase a second compressed gaswhich is immiscible with and inactive to the liquefied fuel. The saidsecond gas may for example, be nitrogen and should be compressed to suchan extent that the gas pressure within the space 72 substantiallyexceeds the vapor pressure of the liquefied fuel at the normal operatingtemperatures, even when almost all the liquefied fuel 71 has beendischarged from the refill container 62.

The operation of the above-described hair curler is as follows:

' When the hair curler 30 is to be used the curler is gripped, and thefunnel-shaped end wall 36 is pressed over the discharge tube 65 of therefill container 62 as shown in FIG. 2. Thereby the discharge tube 65 isled into contact with the valve stem 38, and the filling valve 37 of thehair curler as well as the discharge valve 64 is opened. Due to thenitrogen pressure in the space 72 of the refill container liquefied fuelfrom the liquid phase 71 is pressed up through the dip tube 66, throughthe opened valves 64 and 37 and into the fuel container 34, which may bealmost filled with liquefied fuel. As an example the nitrogen pressurein the space 72 of the refill container may be about 8 atm. gauge, andthe volume of the fuel container 34 may be about 4 cm. which correspondsto a fuel capacity of about 2 grams of liquefied gas. From the fuelcontainer 34 the gas begins to flow through the filtering or gasifyingmember 41 and the discharge opening 42 to the nozzle opening 51. Theporous filtering or gasifying member 41 filters the gas flowing to thenozzle opening and thereby prevents clogging of the same. The pressuredrop created through the porous filtering or gasifying member 41 causesa gasification of the liquefied fuel, and due to the fact that themember 41 is maintained moistened by liquefied fuel by means of the wickor lining 43 as previously described the said pressure drop is almostconstant despite of the changing quantity of liquefied fuel left in thefuel container and despite of the position in which the curler is held.Thus, the gas pressure at the upstream side of the nozzle plate 49 iskept almost constant under all operational conditions and an even andcontrolled flow of gas through the nozzle opening 51 may be obtained.

The size of the nozzle opening is normally chosen dependent on thepressure drop through the gasifying member and through the ducts andchannels of the curler, on the vapor pressure obtained in the fuelcontainer 34 under operational conditions, and on the heating intensitydesired within the curler.

The flow of gaseous fuel through the channel or duct 47 creates asuction in the same, and thus by injector effect air from the airsuction chamber is automatically sucked into the duct 47 through the airintroducing channel 48 whereby a mixture of fuel and air is directedinto the oxidation chamber 52. Air may be sucked into the air suctionchamber through the openings 32 in the outer tubular member 31. However,when hair is winded around the tubular member 31 these openings may bepartly or totally covered and closed. Therefore, the hair curler maypreferably have longitudinally extending ducts or channels (not shown)communicating with the air suction chamber and opening into theatmosphere at the pheriphery of the'funnel-shaped end wall 36 of thecurler. For the sake of safety the said mixture may contain such anamount of air that a normal combustion of the fuel in the mixture isimpossible when no catalyst is present.

When the hair curler 30 is depressed over the discharge tube 65 of therefill container as described above an electrical current isautomatically supplied to the filament 56 as previously descr bed. Thus,the initial flow of gas-air mixture through the oxidation chamber 52contacts the glowing catalyzing filament 56 whereby oxidation of thegaseous fuel in the mixture is initiated. The combustion gases isexhausted through the openings 32 and/or the adjacent open end of thecurler. The partition wall 73 prevents that combustion gases from thechamber 52 are mixed with the air introduced into the duct 48, and theinsulating layer 44 prevents undue heat ing of the fuel container 34.

When the fuel container 34 of the curler 30 has been filled or almostfilled with liquefied fuel from the storagecontainer 62, the curler isremoved from the storage container. Then the valves 37 and 64 areautomatically closed, and the electrical current through the filament 56is interrupted. The oxidation process once having being started withinthe chamber 52, the less active catalyst or catalysts in the pellet 54are able to catalyze the further oxidation of the gaseous fuel in thechamber 52, whereby the more expensive catalysts or catalysts having arelatively short useful life may be spared.

When the curler 30 has been removed from the refill container 62 thecurler may be arranged in hair, which should be curled and/or dried, inthe normal manner. Heat generated by the oxidation of the fuel in thechamber 52 is transmitted to the hair partly by radiation through thetransparent tubular member 53 and through the openings 32, and partly byconvection.

The heat generation within the oxidation chamber continues as long asliquefied fuel is present within the fuel container 34. Therefore, ifafter use the user wants to stop the heat generation this mayconveniently be done by depressing the stem 38 of the filling valve 37,whereby the valve is opened so that fuel in the container 34 may escapeinto the atmosphere.

The security cage 58 has for itsobject to prevent that the hair curlerignites in flammable vapors or gases which may be present outside thecurler during operation thereof.

When an embodiment of the tubular member 53 as that shown in FIG. 3is'used in the hair curler 30 it is possible to use a gas-air mixturebeing more optimal for combustion, because the exhaust flow of gasthrough the Venturi throat 60 causes a suction of air through theopenings 61 into the tubular extension 59. Thus, the gas mixtureexhausted from the hair curler may be made nonflammable even if for somereason no oxidation of thefuel has taken place within the chamber 52.

it should be understood that several modifications of the hair curlerdescribed above could be made without departing from the scope of thisinvention. It is also envisaged that the combustion of the fuel withinthe hair curler according to the invention could take place also in caseno oxidation catalyst is present in the combustion chamber or combustionzone. At the present time, however, such embodiment of the hair curleris not preferred.

lclaim:

1. In a hair curler having means for storing a supply of fuel in saidcurler, means for releasing fuel in gaseous form from the supply andmeans for catalyzing an oxidation of the released gaseous fuel so as togenerate heat, the improvement that said fuel releasing means comprise anozzle for directing a flow or current of gaseous fuel from said fuelsupply to said catalyzing means.

2. A hair curler according to claim 1, further comprising means forintroducing an oxygen containing gas into said flow of gaseous fuel fromsaid nozzle so as to provide a gas mixture combustible in the presenceof said catalyzing means.

3. A hair curler according to claim 2, wherein said oxygen introducingmeans comprise injector means positioned in alignment with said nozzleat the down stream end thereof for introducing oxygen containing gasinto the flow of gaseous fuel by injector effect.

4. A hair curler according to claim 2, wherein said nozzle defines anozzle opening the diameter of which is 15-80 g.

5. A hair curler according to claim 4, wherein said nozzle openings hasbeen provided in said plate by laser light.

6. A hair curler according to claim 2 wherein said catalyzing meanscomprise a first catalyst having a relatively long useful life and asecond and more active catalyst having a shorter useful life, said firstcatalyst being positioned upstream to said second catalyst in the flowof gas mixture.

7. A hair curler according to claim 6, wherein said first catalystdefines the inner surface of a channel or duct portion for said flow ofgas mixture, said second catalyst being placed at the downstream end ofsaid duct portion.

8. A hair curler according to claim 6, wherein said second catalystcomprises a filament of an oxidation catalyzing material for initiatingoxidation of the gaseous fuel by heating said filament through supplyingan electrical current thereto.

9. A hair curler according toclairn 2, further comprising means forintroducing a noncombustible gas or gas mixture into the flow of gashaving passed the catalysts in order to obtain that the resulting gasmixture .flow leaving the curler is nonflammable even when for somereason no oxidation of the gaseous fuel emitted by the nozzle has takenplace in the curler.

10. A hair curler according to claim 6, wherein said first catalystcomprises aluminum oxide and said second catalyst comprises platinum.

11. A hair curler according to claim 2, wherein said supply of fuel ispresent in a liquid as well as in a gaseous state, said fuel releasingmeans further comprising a porous mass positioned between said fuelsupply and said nozzle in such a manner that the fuel has to penetratesaid porous mass in order to reach the opening of the nozzle, wherebyreleasing of the fuel in a gaseous state is secured and clogging of thenozzle opening is prevented.

12. A hair curler according to claim 11, further comprising wick meanscontacting said liquid phase of the fuel supply and the porous mass,respectively, so as to secure moistening of said porous mass with liquidfuel phase in all positions of the hair curler.

13. A hair curler according to claim 11, wherein said porous mass ismade from a material selected from the group consisting of pulp, paper,ceramic materials and sintered metals.

14. A hair curler according to claim 2, further comprising heatinsulating material arranged so as to substantially reduce transfer ofheat generated by said oxidation of fuel to said supply of fuel.

15. A hair curler comprising a container for containing at an elevatedpressure a supply of a liquefied combustible gas being in a gaseousstate at atmospheric pressure and temperature conditions, valve meanspermitting loading of said container with liquefied gas, a nozzlecommunicating with said container and comprising an air intake, saidnozzle being adapted to direct a current or flow of a mixture of air andcombustible gas into an internal space defined in said curler, andcatalyzing means arranged in said space for catalyzing an oxidation ofcombustible gas in said flow or current.

16. A hair curler according to claim 15, wherein said nozzle defines anozzle opening having a diameter of p.80 t, said opening having beenprovided by use of laser light.

17. A hair curler according to claim 15, wherein said catalyzing meanscomprises a first catalyst having a relatively long useful life and asecond and more active catalyst having a shorter useful life, said firstcatalyst being arranged closer to the nozzle opening then said secondcatalyst, whereby the initial oxidation of the gas in said flow orcurrent may be catalyzed by said second catalyst, whereas the oxidationmay by catalyzed by said first catalyst, the catalyzing process oncehaving been started, thereby sparing said second catalyst.

18. A hair curler according to claim 17 wherein said second catalystcomprises a filament, means being provided for supplying an electricalcurrent to the filament in order to heat the same, whereby initiation ofthe oxidation is facilitated.

19. A hair curler according to claim 15 further comprising a tube orduct of the Venturi type arranged downstream to said catalyzing meansand being adapted to introduce further air into the flow or current ofgas mixture leaving said internal space in order to secure that gasmixture exhausted from the hair curler is nonflammable even when forsome reason no oxidation of the combustible gas has taken place in thehair curler.

20. A hair curler according to claim 17, wherein said first catalystcomprises aluminum oxide, and said second catalyst comprises platinum.

21. A hair curler according to claim 15, further comprising a filteringmeans arranged between said gas container and said nozzle in such amanner that combustible gas from said container has to pass' saidfiltering means in order to reach the nozzle opening.

22. A hair curler according to claim 21, further comprising wick meansarranged in said gas container and adapted to moisten said filteringmeans with liquefied gas despite of the position of said container.

23. A hair curler according to claim 21, wherein said filtering meanscomprises a material selected from the group consisting of pulp, paper,ceramic materials and sintered metals.

24. A hair curler according to claim 15, further comprising a heatinsulation arranged between said gas container and said internal spaceof the curler to reduce transfer of heat generated by the oxidation ofcombustible gas to said gas container.

1. In a hair curler having means for storing a supply of fuel in saidcurler, means for releasing fuel in gaseous form from the supply andmeans for catalyzing an oxidation of the released gaseous fuel so as togenerate heat, the improvement that said fuel releasing means comprise anozzle for directing a flow or current of gaseous fuel from said fuelsupply to said catalyzing means.
 2. A hair curler according to claim 1,further comprising means for introducing an oxygen containing gas intosaid flow of gaseous fuel from said nozzle so as to provide a gasmixture combustible in the presence of said catalyzing means.
 3. A haircurler according to claim 2, wherein said oxygen introducing meanscomprise injector means positioned in alignment with said nozzle at thedown stream end thereof for introducing oxygen containing gas into theflow of gaseous fuel by injector effect.
 4. A hair curler according toclaim 2, wherein said nozzle defines a nozzle opening the diameter ofwhich is 15-80 Mu .
 5. A hair curler according to claim 4, wherein saidnozzle openings has been provided in said plate by laser light.
 6. Ahair curler accordiNg to claim 2 wherein said catalyzing means comprisea first catalyst having a relatively long useful life and a second andmore active catalyst having a shorter useful life, said first catalystbeing positioned upstream to said second catalyst in the flow of gasmixture.
 7. A hair curler according to claim 6, wherein said firstcatalyst defines the inner surface of a channel or duct portion for saidflow of gas mixture, said second catalyst being placed at the downstreamend of said duct portion.
 8. A hair curler according to claim 6, whereinsaid second catalyst comprises a filament of an oxidation catalyzingmaterial for initiating oxidation of the gaseous fuel by heating saidfilament through supplying an electrical current thereto.
 9. A haircurler according to claim 2, further comprising means for introducing anoncombustible gas or gas mixture into the flow of gas having passed thecatalysts in order to obtain that the resulting gas mixture flow leavingthe curler is nonflammable even when for some reason no oxidation of thegaseous fuel emitted by the nozzle has taken place in the curler.
 10. Ahair curler according to claim 6, wherein said first catalyst comprisesaluminum oxide and said second catalyst comprises platinum.
 11. A haircurler according to claim 2, wherein said supply of fuel is present in aliquid as well as in a gaseous state, said fuel releasing means furthercomprising a porous mass positioned between said fuel supply and saidnozzle in such a manner that the fuel has to penetrate said porous massin order to reach the opening of the nozzle, whereby releasing of thefuel in a gaseous state is secured and clogging of the nozzle opening isprevented.
 12. A hair curler according to claim 11, further comprisingwick means contacting said liquid phase of the fuel supply and theporous mass, respectively, so as to secure moistening of said porousmass with liquid fuel phase in all positions of the hair curler.
 13. Ahair curler according to claim 11, wherein said porous mass is made froma material selected from the group consisting of pulp, paper, ceramicmaterials and sintered metals.
 14. A hair curler according to claim 2,further comprising heat insulating material arranged so as tosubstantially reduce transfer of heat generated by said oxidation offuel to said supply of fuel.
 15. A hair curler comprising a containerfor containing at an elevated pressure a supply of a liquefiedcombustible gas being in a gaseous state at atmospheric pressure andtemperature conditions, valve means permitting loading of said containerwith liquefied gas, a nozzle communicating with said container andcomprising an air intake, said nozzle being adapted to direct a currentor flow of a mixture of air and combustible gas into an internal spacedefined in said curler, and catalyzing means arranged in said space forcatalyzing an oxidation of combustible gas in said flow or current. 16.A hair curler according to claim 15, wherein said nozzle defines anozzle opening having a diameter of 15 Mu -80 Mu , said opening havingbeen provided by use of laser light.
 17. A hair curler according toclaim 15, wherein said catalyzing means comprises a first catalysthaving a relatively long useful life and a second and more activecatalyst having a shorter useful life, said first catalyst beingarranged closer to the nozzle opening then said second catalyst, wherebythe initial oxidation of the gas in said flow or current may becatalyzed by said second catalyst, whereas the oxidation may bycatalyzed by said first catalyst, the catalyzing process once havingbeen started, thereby sparing said second catalyst.
 18. A hair curleraccording to claim 17, wherein said second catalyst comprises afilament, means being provided for supplying an electrical current tothe filament in order to heat the same, whereby initiation of theoxidation is facilitated.
 19. A hair curler according to claim 15further comprising a tube or duct of the VEnturi type arrangeddownstream to said catalyzing means and being adapted to introducefurther air into the flow or current of gas mixture leaving saidinternal space in order to secure that gas mixture exhausted from thehair curler is nonflammable even when for some reason no oxidation ofthe combustible gas has taken place in the hair curler.
 20. A haircurler according to claim 17, wherein said first catalyst comprisesaluminum oxide, and said second catalyst comprises platinum.
 21. A haircurler according to claim 15, further comprising a filtering meansarranged between said gas container and said nozzle in such a mannerthat combustible gas from said container has to pass said filteringmeans in order to reach the nozzle opening.
 22. A hair curler accordingto claim 21, further comprising wick means arranged in said gascontainer and adapted to moisten said filtering means with liquefied gasdespite of the position of said container.
 23. A hair curler accordingto claim 21, wherein said filtering means comprises a material selectedfrom the group consisting of pulp, paper, ceramic materials and sinteredmetals.
 24. A hair curler according to claim 15, further comprising aheat insulation arranged between said gas container and said internalspace of the curler to reduce transfer of heat generated by theoxidation of combustible gas to said gas container.